cmon lads its not the youngsters fault they have to use straps or god forbid a curtainsider I bet they would love to rope and sheet on a freezing cold wet and windy day dragging big tarps onto a load use hemp ropes with no gloves no steel toecaps , I bet they are fed up to their back teeth with comfortable motors with all mod cons night heaters nice bunks laptops Ipods , I bet they would love to get dirty allday and maybe the next day get rid of their power steering and big powerful engines ,put up with low pay no time off . Lads I know roping was a work of art of which I was ok with but certainly no expert at ,cmon the curtainsider was a great invention anything that makes life easier has to be a good thing the young ones need a bit of encouragement not put downs by grumpy old men the job market is bloody tough out there. now don`t get too upset and nasty this is just a light hearted look at life 
maybe I have got the hump as I have been up a ladder painting for the last few days, all the best fred M
ubym344:
cmon lads its not the youngsters fault they have to use straps or god forbid a curtainsider I bet they would love to rope and sheet on a freezing cold wet and windy day dragging big tarps onto a load use hemp ropes with no gloves no steel toecaps , I bet they are fed up to their back teeth with comfortable motors with all mod cons night heaters nice bunks laptops Ipods , I bet they would love to get dirty allday and maybe the next day get rid of their power steering and big powerful engines ,put up with low pay no time off . Lads I know roping was a work of art of which I was ok with but certainly no expert at ,cmon the curtainsider was a great invention anything that makes life easier has to be a good thing the young ones need a bit of encouragement not put downs by grumpy old men the job market is bloody tough out there. now don`t get too upset and nasty this is just a light hearted look at life
HiyaâŚA up fred any chance of you doing my barge boards i,am in north walesâŚI was,nt knocking the lads i thought it maybe a good ideaâŚ
even some old chaps might like a go.I,ll bet if you had a truck with a sheet draped over the sides and 18 inch past the rope hooks it would,nt
be long before some fool like me was having a go for old times sake. Its like the dundee fasten or aberdeen hitch if one driver said to another
i,ve never done one of them. the other chap would say you do it like this âŚdoing a demo. people would do little demos how to loose the eccess
sheet below the rope hooks. and then someone else would differ and say no you do it this way.you,d soon have some banter going on.
And Dennis could still be head man to demonstrate.thats when he,s 100% well
John
Bewick:
rigsby:
dennis , just spotted the scania with the disley reels on . iâll bet that was a bit tight on the under the bridge below the factory . bowaters tried several times to get planning for direct access to the a6 , but the council said it was too dangerous . how dangerous was it up through the wood when the leaves fell . i have had wheelspin round the hairpin on a dry road . cheers , daveHiya Dave,they put a new road in out through the bottom so we didnât need to go out the top way up into Disley.Dennis.
Thanks for the info dennis,ive been ret 10yrs so out of touch.
regards dave
Sorry dennis to intrude wrong dave.
3300John:
ubym344:
cmon lads its not the youngsters fault they have to use straps or god forbid a curtainsider I bet they would love to rope and sheet on a freezing cold wet and windy day dragging big tarps onto a load use hemp ropes with no gloves no steel toecaps , I bet they are fed up to their back teeth with comfortable motors with all mod cons night heaters nice bunks laptops Ipods , I bet they would love to get dirty allday and maybe the next day get rid of their power steering and big powerful engines ,put up with low pay no time off . Lads I know roping was a work of art of which I was ok with but certainly no expert at ,cmon the curtainsider was a great invention anything that makes life easier has to be a good thing the young ones need a bit of encouragement not put downs by grumpy old men the job market is bloody tough out there. now don`t get too upset and nasty this is just a light hearted look at lifeHiyaâŚA up fred any chance of you doing my barge boards i,am in north walesâŚI was,nt knocking the lads i thought it maybe a good ideaâŚ
even some old chaps might like a go.I,ll bet if you had a truck with a sheet draped over the sides and 18 inch past the rope hooks it would,nt
be long before some fool like me was having a go for old times sake. Its like the dundee fasten or aberdeen hitch if one driver said to another
i,ve never done one of them. the other chap would say you do it like this âŚdoing a demo. people would do little demos how to loose the eccess
sheet below the rope hooks. and then someone else would differ and say no you do it this way.you,d soon have some banter going on.
And Dennis could still be head man to demonstrate.thats when he,s 100% well
John
mate if you was near I would do em for you I am in essex and nowadays a trip to wales would defoe be a night out if I could still find the way I dont mind a bit of painting I find it relaxing and gets gets the ole girl of me back, getting back to ropes my old man showed me how to do a dolly knot after he had suffered a bad stroke and was paralysed down one side but he still managed to show me with a bit of old sash cord as I said before I got ok with it but was never a master I have seen some old guys rope a trailor and it was a work of art it should have been framed and put on a wall if you get my drift,I dont envy the new drivers there is so much regs now and traffic and wardens giving you tickets after being parked for a few seconds, would like half a day in one of the new lorries though or an old scanni f88 tm f10 guy big j tk thames 4d haha they would be better than painting, enjoy your evening john just got a bit of gloss to finish me grandaughter is round tomorrow so don`t want any wet paint here fred m
hi dafdave , on the subject of bowaters drum factory , when krugers paper mill burnt down 95ish , they brought the steelwork in round the hairpin . 50foot girders on a trombone , the first one got wedged on the hairpin , they had to get a jcb in & dig a load of the banking away . it was a lot easier after that !! cheers rigsby [ dave ]
mushroomman:
I.I.R.C. it was a Scots Cross on the back and you used Aberbeen Overdrive coming down Beattock.
Steve you ok out there, lots on news ref flooding, hope you are all ok.
regards Big Al
rigsby:
hi dafdave , on the subject of bowaters drum factory , when krugers paper mill burnt down 95ish , they brought the steelwork in round the hairpin . 50foot girders on a trombone , the first one got wedged on the hairpin , they had to get a jcb in & dig a load of the banking away . it was a lot easier after that !! cheers rigsby [ dave ]
Thanks for that rigsby,50ft trombones round that hairpin the mind boggles. lol
regards dave.
Well, the first picture of roping and sheeting in 13 years and even that isnât a traditional âsquareâ load. And that isnât normal in that the wrapover of the sheet would not exclude rain or wind.
I suppose it is because before straps started to come in in the '70s (?) none of us had cameras during the working day.
I am trying to educate some American drivers on a US site but am struggling to find decent R & S pictures.
Can anyone point me in the right direction on here?
Thanks mate, a neat sheeting job I will admit, but nothing I can use to educate the Yanks in the mysteries of old style roping and sheeting. 
Actually Spardo, it wasnât posted for your education of Yanks purpose. Had it served that purpose, it would have been a bonus.
I saw the photo early this morning. It reminded me of this thread, so I downloaded it, to repost.
You posting before me, was pure coincidence that we were both thinking of an almost forgotten thread.
What sort of photos are you looking for?
Seen much tidier, but it does look like an awkward load. Not pretty, but getting a few extra quid in revenue.
Dundee, so could it be jute?
Looks like two big canvas bottle sheets and a long plastic sheet over the top being used as a âflyâ.
Those bottle sheets would have been very heavy when wet.
I fully expect a debate about whether the yellow sheet is or isnât a fly, and what âflyâ really means here.
Iâll start your debate, Frangers; itâs a cap, or cap tarp. 
Spardo, I know this bloke gets up your nose, but he does better than a half reasonable job of tarping.
YesâŚBut⌠The load is strapped before the sheet is put over it.
Now I fully accept that it is secure, and is in no way wrong, it is not (remember this the Oldies forum) how it most likely would have been done, back in the day.
And I have seen it mentioned before around here, a tie rail rather than hooks.
Yep, he does know what he is talking about, and is doing a good job, but it is not the same as I was doing in the 70âs & 80âs.
Taking gloves off but still wearing a ring?
In any manual handling situation rings are a hazard.
I know of one driver that jumped off a trailer with one hand on the rave, and hit the deck with one less fingers.
Fortunately I didnât witness the event, or we both would have gone to hospital.
Lots of rope ends tied off with multiple hitches which are not too quick to undo. Could do better there.
I reckoned on under an hour for 2 sheets, ropes, and flysheet for a 40â trl.
I reckon it might take me over an hour to get on top of a load of bottles today!
Iâm not sure what Spardo was looking for, Franglias, that was the first one that popped up.
Our observations are not unlike, mate. My observations are only from the point of view, as a critique.
On the whole, heâs done the job to satisfaction. Not exactly as I would have done it, but that doesnât make him wrong, just different.
As noted by you, the ring slapped me in the face.
Gloves, well 25~30 years ago, I couldnât rope or tarp with gloves. The pig skin, riggersâ gloves of today fit better and give far more âfeelâ and dexterity than the cumbersome, mitten like thing available last century.
Yes, he did make a bit of a hash of the excess rope.
I would have pinned the edge of the tarp to the coaming rail (rave in your parlance) by running the rope through the bottom eyelet and half-hitching it to the tie rail.
Iâd give him a pass, if I had to assess the task.
Heâs strapped the bulker bags because that is a legal requirement. As you and I are aware, the tarp would be quite adequate, but according to the lawmakers, who wouldnât know the front of a truck from the back, tarps are solely for weather protection.